Miss Fame (born March 30, 1985)[1] is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen,[2] a gender fluid[3] American model, makeup artist, drag queen, recording artist and reality television personality best known as a contestant on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race. After appearing on the show, Dam-Mikkelsen as Miss Fame launched a music career, releasing their debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. Their debut album, Beauty Marked, was released on June 9, 2015.[4] Miss Fame appeared in numerous fashion publications.
Dam-Mikkelsen worked as a male editorial model in California before moving to New York in 2011, following the advice of fashion photographer Mike Ruiz. They then started working as a makeup artist under industry icon Pat McGrath while building a celebrity clientele. At the same time they started modeling and performing in drag as "Miss Fame".[5]
Miss Fame was noticed by photographer Mary McCartney who featured them in her book Devoted. They have also appeared in Half-Drag, a photo series by Leland Bobbé which attracted international attention and were featured in Vogue Italia.[6] Miss Fame was also photographed for Gorgeous, a project by photographers Rob Lebow and Masha Kupets that involved Armen Ra, Candis Cayne, and Tammie Brown.[7] Dam-Mikkelsen works as a celebrity makeup artist in New York City, and have worked on models and celebrities including Marc Jacobs, Ève Salvail, Snooki and JWoww, Martha Wash, Wendy Williams, and Michael Urie.[8]
On December 7, 2014, during the "Ru-Veal" of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Miss Fame was the first queen announced to be a contestant on the show.[9] They were eliminated in the ninth episode, "Divine Inspiration," placing their seventh overall.[10] Following their elimination, they released the music video for "Rubber Doll", which was the first single from their debut album, Beauty Marked.[11] The album was released June 9, 2015, and featured appearances from fellow Drag Race contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Violet Chachki.[4]
In 2016, Miss Fame signed with IMG models Paris.[12]
Miss Fame has been celebrated for their high-fashion editorial work and collaborations with world-renowned photographers like Steven Klein, Giampaolo Sgura, Paola Kudacki, Armin Morbach, Ali Mahdavi, and others. Miss Fame has been featured in publications including Vogue Germany, Vogue Portugal, Vogue Paris,[13] Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book, PAPER,[14] V Magazine,[15] LOVE, CANDY, Tush, OUT, ELLE, and others.
In September 2018, Miss Fame performed as a background dancer behind Christina Aguilera for Opening Ceremony's Spring 2019 collection, with other Drag Race alumni.[17] They released their own makeup line called "The Fetish of Fashion" later in October.[18]
In September 2022, Pinned into a Dress, a documentary about Kurtis' life premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The short-film highlights Kurtis journey and breakthrough in fashion, despite their trauma and addiction, growing up in a broken family. Opening the Settimana Internazionale della Critica the documentary was co-directed by Gianluca Matarrese and Guillaume Thomas.[19]
Early and personal life
Dam-Mikkelsen was born to Dolly Silveira[20] in San Luis Obispo, California.[5] They have also stated that they were raised by their grandmother, Gloria, as her own child.[21] Kurtis lives with their husband Patrick Bertschy and their pet dachshunds, Mina and Shaya.[22]
In 2020, Kurtis moved to Zürich, Switzerland, with their husband.[23]
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